Clark asks judge to hasten his execution

SANTA FE (AP) - Terry Clark, sentenced to die for killing an Artesia girl 14 years ago, has asked the judge in his case to proceed with his execution "as soon as possible."

In handwritten letters to the court from his prison cell, Clark said he no longer agreed with the lawyers who have been trying to spare his life.

"I will not allow my attorneys to make excuses for my actions, as there is no excuse for what I did," Clark wrote. "To do so would lessen the impact of what my actions did to the victim, and the victim's family.

"I will not allow myself, my family and the victim's family to be put through any more. I cannot continue and at the same time keep my conscience clear before God and Man. I feel that I must put this case to rest."

This is the second time Clark told the court he was ready to die.

Clark was appealing his death sentence in 1999 when he wrote to the state Supreme Court, saying he did not want to languish in prison and be faced every day with the shame he felt for his actions. Months later, though, Clark's attorneys said their client wanted to continue fighting in court.

One of Clark's lawyers said Tuesday she does not accept Clark's most recent change of heart.

"I will not help the state kill my client," Assistant Public Defender Gail Evans said. "I will continue to fight for his life."

Clark is on Death Row for the July 1986 killing of Dena Lynn Gore, 9, who was abducted as she rode her bicycle to a store. She was killed while Clark was out on bond to appeal his conviction earlier that year of raping a 6-year-old Roswell girl.

Eight prisoners have been put to death in New Mexico since 1933, but there have been no executions since David Cooper Nelson died in the gas chamber in 1960 for killing a California hitchhiker.

Besides Clark, three other men are on Death Row: Frank Martinez of Grants, Michael Treadway of Farwell, Texas, and Timothy Allen of Bloomfield.

In his recent letters to state District Judge David Bonem dated March 6 and March 14, Clark complained that his lawyers' objections to the death penalty prevent them from advocating for him. He said his lawyers had refused to file a waiver of appeals with the court, forcing him to make his own handwritten communications to the judge.

Clark said he is making the decision to hasten his death "in a knowing, intelligent and voluntary manner."

Clark's attorneys filed an amended petition last April in their fight against execution. Bonem has scheduled a hearing for April 16 to hear arguments on the petition.

The hearing might also address whether Clark may waive his right to a lawyer and to further appeals if he can demonstrate to the court that he understands what he is doing.

Prosecutors have argued Clark is competent to make decisions about his future and hope the judge agrees.

"If he finds he's competent, that's pretty much going to end it," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Lesley Williams.